Andrew Sarangan wrote
In 1947 there were over 9000 aviation accidents. In 2003 there were only
1500 accidents. How is safety improving if the students are being
increasingly prohibited from doing useful things?

I don't have data for 1947.

In 1955 Piper alone built over 1000 TriPacers - plus other aircraft.
In 2003, all US manufacturers combined didn't build that many piston
airplanes.

Michael